Virus Threatens Shockwave Flash Files
The first virus that infects files in the popular Macromedia Flash format has been discovered, raising concerns that malicious code writers will gain a new method for infecting Internet users.
Anti-virus software vendor Sophos said it received a copy of the virus, which it has named SWF/LFM-926, in a Flash "movie" file attached to an e-mail from an anonymous sender.
According to Sophos's Graham Cluley, the virus appears to be a "proof of concept" and contains a "relatively harmless" payload. LFM-926 is designed simply to infect other Flash files, which have a .SWF extension, in the current directory on computers running Microsoft's Windows operating system.
